Welcome to my 8th trip report on Airliners.net. In this trip, I travel with Singapore Airlines to Male (Maldives), on Maldivian Airlines from Male to Gan and back, and then back with SQ from Maldives to Singapore, then Singapore to Bali and back all in the span of 2 weeks. All the photos were taken with my iPhone 4.

I have been to the Maldives twice before, one of was documented hereOne of my many previous trips to Bali can be found here

DepartingWET. That would probably best describe the morning of the 5th of June 2011. I found myself in a taxi on the way to Changi Airport starting on a journey that would probably be the most hectic of my life. Thunder boomed dramatically in the background as the iconic control tower loomed into view.

The taxi pulled up to the Singapore Airlines First Class Check-In at Terminal 2. The porters began unloading the vehicle, while I took shelter in the warm concourse that is Terminal 2.

"Off to where today, sir?" asked the SQ ground staff as they led my across the terminal floor. "Male" (pronounced mah-lay) I replied. A minute later, I arrived at the First Class Check-In.

Without any fuss, they ground staff issued my boarding pass and I left for the lounge. Past immigration, I took a left and went up the escalator, as instructed.

The SQ Terminal 2 Lounge is current undergoing extensive renovations and only the First Class section was open to passengers. The First Class Section was more than enough space for the few travelers passing through the Terminal for regional flights.

Buffet

Drinks

After the lounge, I left and proceeded to the gate, where the torrential downpour had not let up. Not long after I arrived, passengers were invited to board the plane.

Taking a left at the fork in the aerobridge, the stewardess warmly greeted me and showed my to my seat.

The Airbus A330 was leased by Singapore Airlines as an interim aircraft between the ageing B772s and the incoming 787s and A350s. The A330s feature a new "regional Business Class" that is currently being fitted on selected Boeing 777-200s and -300s. The Economy Class on the 333 is the same as that on the A380s and 777-300ERs.

The flight was half full in Business, with most of the passengers coming from Japan. At 0945, the scheduled departure time, the pilot came on the PA and announced that there would be a delay in the departure due to inclement weather conditions.

Later on, I realised that this had happened all across Singapore:
Tanglin Mall, along the busy shopping belt, Orchard Road

In the basement of St Regis Hotel, Orchard Road

The delay meant waiting on the ground until ATC had cleared the backlog of aircraft waiting to depart and arrive. Doesn't happen very often in Singapore! Meanwhile, the crew had turned on Krisworld to keep the passengers occupied.

Still wet

About an hour after our scheduled departure time, the door were closed and the aircraft began to pushback from the gate.

The safety video rolled and we were on our way.

There is a saying that in Singapore,when you see a long line of people queueing, it's either for free goodies or 4D (the lottery). They should probably add airplanes in tropical thunderstorms to that. The line for takeoff backed up for miles. I watched as dozens of planes took to the skies or touched down on 20C

from the big...

to the small.

The LINE

It felt like hours before Singapore 462 was given takeoff clearance and we blasted off into the grey morning skies.

TMCC Golf Course

Seat Controls

Some of the seat features

The aircraft soon leveled off and the passengers got settled in. I scrolled through KrisWorld and watched a few HIMYM and Family Guy episodes.

About 1 hour after takeoff, the crew emerged with the Satay (skewered meat) trolley and began to serve the passengers.

Satay

The main course followed soon after. I chose the beef and tucked in. The food on SQ in has been deplorable recently. I've had lobster that tasted like soggy vegetables, scallops that were probably rubber and beef that I'm 99% sure was cardboard. So I was pretty surprised when I cut into the meat and ate it.

The meal service concluded with some ice cream, cheeses and coffee. Following the meal service, the crew dimmed the lights. Some of the other passengers, who I presume had taken a red-eye from North Asia, were sleeping quietly.

About 30 minutes before arrival, the pilot came over the PA system and delivered his standard message. The cabin crew began preparing the cabin for arrival. As the plane began to descend, I caught a glimpse of the turquoise waters of the Maldives.

Although I had been to the Maldives previously, I had not seen this spectacular approach as SQ452/451 were night flights.

Almost as if landing on water, the plane descended. Until about 10 seconds before landing, the runway was nowhere to be seen.

Male Airport

The plane taxied to the apron and was greeted by the air stairs at doors 1L and 2L.

As I emerged from the staircase, the warm Maldivian sun kissed my skin and I was in love, like 10 year old girl for Justin Bieber.

Arriving, then DepartingImmigration was quick and the bags were out without a fuss. All the bags then had to be screened at Customs.

As I emerged from the arrival hall, this was the sight that greeted me:

All the hotel bookings were made through Atoll Paradise (I highly recommend them) and a representative from the agency as well as one from Shangri-La were there to greet me. They pushed my trolley and guided me to the domestic terminal, about 50 metres away.

Domestic Terminal

Check-in for the flight was extremely fast. I got quite a shock when they asked me to stand on the baggage scales to be "weighed". I was quite amused by the scenario playing in my head where airlines would charge passengers by weight. But, they'd probably face a class action law suit for "discrimination".

I was then showed to the Lounge in the Domestic Terminal (one of the perks of booking with Atoll Paradise)

Today's domestic flight would be from Male to Gan via Kaadedhdhoo (let's just call it KDM for short).

Map of the Maldives. You can see Gan wayyyyy down south in the little triangle-shaped atoll

My usage of the free Wifi in the lounge was short lived as boarding was called. The flight was about an even mix of locals and tourists. The flight to KDM would take 1 hour and then the hop to Gan about 20 minutes.

Departure Lounge

Maldivian planes

My ride today would be a Bombardier Q300

I walked across the tarmac and to the aircraft, where the crew was greeting and counting the passengers who were boarding.

After taking off from KDM, the aircraft droned on quietly until about 10 minutes into the flight. Suddenly, loud "beach-y" music began playing on the speakers and the crew began giving out certificates. I was completely shocked. Then, I got mine...

We had apparently passed the equator. The locals were most unamused, but some of the tourists seemed excited and began taking photos of the water, where the invisible line divides the Northern and Southern hemisphere.

But it doesn't end there!
2 days later, I found myself in the Silver Kris Lounge at Terminal 2 once more. This time, I was off to Bali

Departing... yet again

More pictures of the lounge

Thinking that the boarding time for the flight was 1700h, I took my time in the lounge and slowly walked to the gate. A panting SATS agent ran up to me and asked "Are you on SQ946 to Bali?" I said yes. "You're late! The flight is leaving soon!"

I took off in the direction of the gate. Apparently the flight time was 1640! Oops. I got to the gate just in the nick of time and quietly took my seat on the plane.

I looked around and realised that the cabin was only about 1/3 full. The crew began preparing for departure as the doors closed and the aircraft started to pushback.

Arched 777 bins

The powerful 777 engines began as a whine and then became a scream as we hurtled down 20C. The plane rattled and shook but managed to lift off.

The Boeing 777-200s first joined SQ's fleet in 1996/7. Since then, they have had minor upgrades. The current Business Class cabin on the 772s will be replaced by the newer "regional Business Class". Some of these 777s are also planned to be transferred to 'Scoot' SQ's planned long-haul LCC. The aircraft does not have Video on Demand, meaning you cannot pause or rewind the movies or videos. These planes are mostly used for regional routes such as KUL, DPS and CGK.

Meal service for dinner began quickly. The entire meal was served together, not course by course as was previous practice.

Appetizer

Main Course

The cabin

Hey! Where's my certificate!??

After 1 hour 45 minutes of flying, the captain came on the PA to tell everyone that we were arriving in Denpasar on time and that we would be beginning our descent shortly.

The twinkling lights of Denpasar appeared in the window shortly after. We continued to descend seemingly into nowhere until Ngurah Rai airport appeared. The wheels touched the runway on time and I was out of the plane by 1904, ahead of schedule. Immigration and Customs were painless and I arrived at the Grand Hyatt just in time for dinner.

The stewardess in the red sarong kebaya greeted me at 1L and showed me to my seat. She offered newspapers and magazines and a hot towel. The crew then went around collecting drink orders for after takeoff.

The aircraft pushed back on time and we were soon aligned on the active. The noisy engines came to life and the airplane rattled its way down the length of the runway and lifted off into the clear morning.

The crew began meal service immediately after takeoff. The options were the omelette or the pancakes. I chose the omelette.

SQ941 was quite full

After a quick hop over to Singapore, the aircraft prepared for arrival. The plane was soon on the ground and at Terminal 2, where it awaited its next departure.

ConclusionIt was an extremely fun and relaxing 2 weeks but I have to say that I feel that SQ's standards are slipping and they just might be eclipsed by some of the newer premium airlines like Qatar, Emirates and Etihad. Some minor details that I noted were, for example, the crew does not ask "how may I address you sir/madam?" anymore, but instead use a generic sir/madam for all the passengers, as is the case in Economy. Also, SQ did not provide any amenities (those eyeshades and socks that they call "amenities" ) on the flights! And don't get me started on the new singaporeair.com

A nice set of flights you had there! And what an amazing views on the Maldives, really something special to experience that. Maldivian, aren't they also the ones who operate the watertaxis? Love the colorscheme of the Q300 from MLE to GAN!

Quoting planesjoey (Thread starter):Although I had been to the Maldives previously, I had not seen this spectacular approach as SQ452/451 were night flights.

Nice report. I've travelled SIN-CGK-SIN in J a few times in the last few months and have always been addressed by name. They seem to remember everyone's names in a full J cabin (49 of them) for a 1h20min flying time from SIN to CGK without any problems.

I don't know why they don't do a course by course service for Bali. It is 2 hours and they can well do it course by course. Of course it's not possible for Jakarta because the flying time is too short and you have barely enough time to eat on that very short sector.

Quoting planesjoey (Thread starter):They should probably add airplanes in tropical thunderstorms to that. The line for takeoff backed up for miles. I watched as dozens of planes took to the skies or touched down on 20C

Quoting planesjoey (Thread starter):We had apparently passed the equator. The locals were most unamused, but some of the tourists seemed excited and began taking photos of the water, where the invisible line divides the Northern and Southern hemisphere.

Nice set of flights you took. I hadn't ever really thought of the Maldives cspanning the equator, but indeed they do! Which was better, Bali or the Maldives?

Quoting planesjoey (Thread starter):Some minor details that I noted were, for example, the crew does not ask "how may I address you sir/madam?" anymore, but instead use a generic sir/madam for all the passengers, as is the case in Economy.

I remember being called by name numerous times duting an AKL-SIN flight in Y about 10 years ago.

Nice report with nice pictures especially from the Maldives. I spent 12h at Male about ten years ago and wish I had more time to spend there. I'll try to go back some time for a longer stay. I've been to Bali too and it brings back nice memories.

Cabins look a bit dated on the 777 so nice to hear that they will get an upgrade. Good that they are mostly used on shorter flights.